Chromecast was hailed by the Time Magazine as the most innovative gadget in 2013. This affordable HDMI dongle changes the way people consume contents, especially online video and music.

Most people now have multiple screens: smartphones ( normally 3.5-7″), tablets (normally 7-12.2″), laptops (normally 10-17″), PC (normally 19-34″) and of course TV (normally 34-80″). Different size gives different experiences, and some contents., for example, full-length movies, are preferred in a larger TV screen.

How to unify these screens?

There are different answers from different vendors. But most of them are vendor-dependent. In other words, the solution only works for some specific-branded devices. For example, Apple has AirPlay (which requires Apple TV); Samsung introduced AllShare Cast since Galaxy S3 (which requires certain Samsung Galaxy devices).

Chromecast delivered an answer that is independent of hardware vendors!

I will try to explain to you Chromecast vs Miracast: the difference between Chromecast and Miracast (Miracast enabled devices), the advantages, and disadvantages of Chromecast and Miracast.

What is Miracast?

Miracast is a peer-to-peer wireless screencasting standard using Wi-Fi Direct connections. Manufacturers can get certifications for their devices from Wi-Fi Alliance.

Miracast standard enables wireless delivery of audio and video to or from any devices with WiFi direct support. To make it work, both the sending and receiving devices must support Miracast. Most smart TVs released in last two years support Miracast.

If the receiving device (usually TV or projector) does not support Miracast, a HDMI or USB Miracast dongle can be used for the receiver to work with the sending devices. This means if your TV does not support Miracast, you may still enjoy the casting with a small HDMI dongle.

However, for some low-end Android devices , some vendors may disable Miracast due to hardware or resource limitations. For example, although Moto G came with Jelly Bean 4.3 and was updated to KitKat 4.4, wireless display is disabled in the software level due to the hardware limitation (WiFi connection and Miracast cannot be used simultaneously in Moto G). Actually Sony Xperia Z also suffered the similar issue. But Sony enabled this feature anyway (but once you use wireless display in Xperia Z, internet connection drops).

Some old Samsung Android devices, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Note 10.1, have AllShare Cast baked in. They also work with Miracast receiving devices, although the OS may be still in Jelly Bean 4.1.

AllShare Cast is a proprietary solution from Samsung. But it is compatible with Miracast devices (Samsung does not publicly admit it).

While AirPlay from Apple is NOT compatible with Miracast at all. It only works through Apple TV. Neither iPhone nor iPad supports Miracast. So, if you are an iPhone or iPad user, you are out of the Miracast circle.

For laptops and ultrabooks, Intel has a WiDi solution, which is compatible with Miracast devices. It works with Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

Is Chromecast using Miracast ?

First, Chromecast is NOT using Miracast. It actually has nothing to do with Miracast.

Chromecast can work in two modes: web apps mode and Chrome tab casting mode.

In web apps mode, Chromecast works like a HTML5 web browser. The Chromecast-enabled apps (for example, YouTube App, Netflix App, Google Play Movies and TV, Hulu Plus,…) pass an HTML5 page to Chromecast, and then Chromecast streaming the contents to your TV. The app developer must access Google Cast SDK, which was released to the developers officially early this month, to make their apps work with Chromecast. The casting or streaming relies on Google Cast Services provided by Google.

Chromecast can also directly cast any tabs of Chrome browser from your PC to a TV. This mode is different from web apps mode because it does not require a web app. In Chrome browser, you need install a Google Cast extension. The technology behind this mode is actually WebRTC. WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is an API definition being drafted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to enable browser-to-browser applications for voice calling, video chat, and P2P file sharing without plugins. Chrome tab casting is not as matured as web apps and it requires substantial hardware capabilities.

So, in short, Chromecast has nothing to do with Miracast.

Chromecast VS Miracast: what are the major differences?

When compare Chromecast VS Miracast, the first question you may have is what the differences are.

Miracast is a “mirroring” solution. The video and audio signals are transferred digitally (WiFi direct) from the sending device to the receiving device (most of time, it is a TV). The receiving device pass (small conversion may be involved) the digital signal to TV inputs.

For example, when playing a video on mobile phone, the mobile device decodes the video and sends the output to both local screen and the receiving device (e.g., TV). The receiving device does not handle files directly. For most devices, you cannot turn off the local screen. The only exception I found is Samsung’s AllShare Cast, which automatically turn off local display.

Chromecast in web app mode actually works like a media player embedded in an HTML 5 page. The Apps in your mobile device pass the URL and some other properties to Chromecast, which do the rest. So Chromecast actually handles the file and send output to the TV. The app in your mobile device may do something else.

For example, when watching YouTube video with Chromecast, your mobile device’s YouTube app simply passes the resource info to Chromecast as an HTML 5 web page and Chromecast will do all other things. You can then use mobile device for other jobs.

Chromecast in Chrome tab cast mode works similar to mirroring, but using a totally different technology.

Chromecast VS Miracast: Advantages of Chromecast

Comparing Chromecast to Miracast, it is easy to find Chromecast has the following top 3 advantages.

Cheap. $35 is probably the cheapest wireless casting solution you can find. Miracast HDMI dongle usually costs $50-$100. Of course, you can argue that lots of current TVs have Miracast-support already. But for the sending device, only high-end device provides Miracast support. While Chromecast only need small apps in your sending device. The apps works in most devices.

Multitasking. Miracast is a mirroring solution. It usually means your local screen will always have identical content as the TV. You cannot navigate aways to do anything else. Although in Samsung’s AllShare Cast solution, you can turn off local display, you still cannot navigate away. Chromecast allows you to switch to other apps in your mobile device when in web app mode. In Chrome tab cast mode, you can open other programs and do something else as long as you do not close that mirrored tab.

Hardware independent. Miracast requires Miracast support on both sending and receiving devices. Chromecast is a hardware-independent solution. You only need run apps in your sending device. For the receiving device, you only need a HDMI port.

Chromecast VS Miracast: Disadvantages of Chromecast

Of course, Chromecast is far from perfect. In the fight of Chromecast VS Miracast, Chromecast has the following top 3 disadvantages.

Heavily relies on app developers. There are still very limited apps that work with Chromecast. Of course, we will see more and more apps with Chromecast support after the public release of Google Cast SDK. In short, what you can cast on the TV screen relies on app developers (in web app mode) or relies what Chrome browser can handle in Chrome tab casting mode. While with Miracast, you can mirror whatever you can see on your tiny screen to TV. It is app-independent. Update 1: In selected Android devices with Android KitKat 4.4 or later, screen mirroring is also available. For Nexus devices, it is built-in. For other devices, it is done through Chromecast app. This is still a beta feature. For more detailed info on Android screen mirroring through Chromecast, please read this post.

Mediocre performance in Chrome tab casting mode. Chrome tab casting mode is still in beta. The video quality is limited to 720p and there is no full HD 1080p support yet. Apparently, Chrome tab casting needs a lot of computing power. In some old systems, the performance may be not acceptable. Although some cheap Miracast HDMI dongle may give similar mediocre performance, most of the time, Miracast works flawlessly if the device is certified.

Not all WiFi networks work with Chromecast. Chromecast requires a wireless network. Miracast itself does not require this. To make it even worse, some wireless networks (e.g., wireless network in most hotels) do not work with Chromecast at all. Some router configuration, e.g. , AP (access point) isolation, will make your Chromacast useless.

Chromecast VS Miracast: should I buy Chromecast or Miracast dongle?

If you mainly watch local (downloaded) movies, and your device supports Miracast, a $60-$80 Miracast dongle probably is the ideal solution for you. Chromecast does not support local media well, although a few apps can stream local media to Chromecast.

If your mobile device does not support Miracast, of course, you should not waste money on any Miracast dongles. Miracast is required on both sending (e..g, your mobile device) and receiving devices (miracast-enabled TV, or Miracast dongle).

If you are an iPhone or iPad user, only Chromecast works for you. Actually, Apple TV probably is a better solution for you.

If your video is mainly from Amazon, and you have a Kindle Fire HDX tablet (Kindle Fire HDX 7 or Kindle Fire HDX 8.9), a Miracast dongle is the solution. Kindle Fire HDX supports Miracast.Amazon videos do not work with Chromecast. For any Kindle Fire tablets, you can sideload Chromecast app, but Amazon video does not work with it.

Chromecast VS Miracast: where to buy Chromecast?

Chromecast is available in Google Play Store (US only currently, but it will be available in more countries in March).

It is also available in Amazon, BestBuy, Walmart, Staples and Motorola online store.

Chromecast VS Miracast: What is the recommended HDMI Miracast dongle/adapter?

My recommendation is Netgear Push2TV Wireless Display HDMI Adapter. This adapter works very well with both Samsung devices (Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Note 3) and other Android devices (Moto X, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Xperia Z1 and HTC One). Don’t be fooled by the mediocre reviews in Amazon product page. Some reviewers simply do not know the purpose of this adapter.

This adapter also works nicely with Amazon Kindle Fire HD or Kindle Fire HDX tablets. This is the only device that is officially certified by Amazon for display mirroring with Kindle Fire HDX 7, Kindle Fire Hdx 8.9 and the new Kindle Fire HD.

Netgear Push2TV HDMI Miracast adapter supports Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) as well. This means you can use your TV as the second screen for your WiDi-supported laptop with this adapter.

The price for this adapter is around $60. In the box, the USB power adapter is included. But surprisingly, HDMI cable is not include. When ordering this adapter, please make sure you get a HDMI cable if you do not have any spare HDMI cables at home.

Great article, thanks. I’d like to add the BlackBerry Z30 as supported Miracast device for the Netgear Push2TV / PTV3000. BlackBerry 10 has Miracast on board and works very well for any media up to 1080p

I just purchased a Xperia Tablet Z2, and want to get an adapter for my big screen TV. Your article is great, and i was going to buy an Miracast adapter. But now i just saw that Plex, and it seems very nice. When do you think that your test will be complete? And can you do a comparison with Mircast in it?

Actually, now there are a few Android apps that can stream local media, e.g., BubbleUPnP (Chromecast/DLNA).

But they are all limited by the formats Chromecast is supporting.

Plex is a good solution if you have many videos on your PC/laptop. You can run the server on your PC, then streaming from Chrome browser to the Chromecast. It is different (far better) from playing videos within Chrome browser. I’m still testing it now (mainly on transcoding).

But Plex is not a good solution for local media on Android. The app is not cheap, and you have to pay more for syncing…

Miracast is another story. It is limited by what you can play/show on your local device (sender).

In “some” (NOT all) new Galaxy tablets, you may get AllShare Cast (NOT AllShare Play) or screen mirroring, with which you can mirror the screen (everything) to the TV. As I know, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition, Galaxy Note Pro, Galaxy Tab Pro have these features. Some Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 may have this feature as well. You can test this feature with smartphones Galaxy S3, S4 and S5, and many other brands and models that have screen mirroring.

If your TV does not support Miracast (but you can find one spare HDMI port), you can use an adapter, for example, Netgear PTV 3000.

But will I be able to (mirror/stream) a PPT file (for ex) found on my phone using a 3rd party app like ezCast or something? Also I found many other ‘cast’ dongles online with antenna, how’s Chromecast in terms of signal strength? Thanks for the article.

First of all, I would like to thank you for your reply and for your excellent tutorials and articles here on this website, it’s the most useful ‘cast’ source I ever came across 🙂 My scenarios are as follow; I’m a lecturer, and I need a solution to present PPT/pptx files on the university HDMI-enabled projectors, my first option was a Miracast-dongle, but at home, I also need to be able to create a YouTube watch-list for the kids to watch on the big screen TV, get it streamed, and then free my laptop/phone for work, a CC seems more appropriate here especially that this will not drain my device’s battery, now, I’m not sure which one should I get especially that there are tons of different ezCast compatible dongles. I read that CC will not work on some secure/browser-login based Wi-Fi networks like in hotels or in the university where I teach. Now with this latest software update, will a CC be able to stream/’mirror’ content directly using something like Wi-Fi-Direct (or whatever Google uses) from the phone without the need to access the university wireless network at all? Also, does a CC store credentials for multiple networks so I don’t need to reset it every time I move between work and home? Finally, I have a Galaxy Nexus running Jelly Bean, and although it’s a Nexus device, it’s not listed as a natively supported device on this official Google Cast ‘mirroring’ protocol list you’ve just mentioned, will this feature work by simply installing latest version of the Chromecast app? I believe this feature will unlock CC and make it able to run virtually every format. You might be wondering why not buying such sticks and test them by myself, but they would cost at least double the price and need at least three weeks to get shipped to my country. Thanks again 🙂

Chromecast need Internet connection even you are streaming/mirroring local contents.

Chromecast can only save one network info. Whenever you change network or the router, you have to reset Chromecast.

As you already know, Chromecast doesn’t work with some WiFi networks that require logging in.

The Android screen mirroring is still a beta feature although it works surprisingly well. Currently Google only enables this feature on selected phone models. Currently, it requires kitkat. On non-nexus phones, it just uses normal Chromecast app. The app detects the phone model, I guess. On Nexus phones, Google added the screen casting button since kitkat. I’m not sure when this feature will be available to other devices. But very likely, in this year. It probably still require kitkat.

Base on my personal experience, the device probably is not good for campus environment. Currently, anyone in the same WiFi network can hijack it. Chromecast is designed for home entertainment with minimal settings (this leads to some missed security features).

For home use, I highly recommend it. It gives you the maximum value of your money.

I disagree with advantage of chromecast on multitasking because if you are streaming from a Windows 8 (updated to 8.1) mobile device (laptop, tablet) you can project 2nd screen in extended mode that allows you to do a lot more of things on 1st screen or viceversa. I agree only if you are streaming from a mobile device like a smartphone.

l wanted to use Chromecast to connect to projectors at work. Our networks will not accept Chromecast, so I needed a wireless router in addition. Then my Surface Pro only projected about 1/4 of my screen. I then tried a Push2TV adapter, and everything worked great! Of course, my IPad users are out of luck.

Netgear dongle simply mirroring whatever you have on the screen (and speaker) to TV. The dongle itself does not connect to internet. If you can use Netflix now, you of course can mirror it with the dongle. If I remember correctly, Z1 Compact has Miracast, so it should work with the dongle.

I have no issues in using vpn together with the Netgear Ptv 3000. I can watch Google play movies and Netflix on TV without issues.

Please note, I used Samsung devices (Note 3, S5, S4, and the aging Note 10.1). I also tested it with Moto X. I don’t have Sony devices.

For Sony devices, the only problem I know is that the old Xperia Z has problems in simultaneously using wifi Internet and screen mirroring. That device cannot handle normal wifi (for Internet) and wifi direct simultaneously. But this is an old story. I think Sony should resolve this issue in later models. You can confirm this with Sony.

Anyway, as expected, vpn does not intefer with screen mirroring, based on my testing.

So that might the problem for me! As i previous mentioned, i have an Xperia Z2, and bought a Netgear PTV3000 at the same time. From the get go, it worked like shit. When i got it, it was one big lag on my TV, when watching movies and mirroring them up (i made a video of this:

. Then i got mad, and left it a few days. Then i tried updating the firmware, but now it disconnects every 5-10 minute – so annoying! It just stop mirroring, and then i have to reconnect. I bought it for the sole purpose of watching streams on my TV from my device. If the solution, is to not use WIFI at the same time, i can live with that until it get fixed, because my Z2 is with 4G LTE and i have unlimited plan for it.

I have Samsung S5 and Samsung galaxy tab pro, and I use screen mirroring with a Samsung Smart TV. Everything works fine. But if I run a VPN to have a different IP I loose the connection to the TV. The VPN works fine, I can use internet, but I cannot use VPN and Screen Mirroring at the same time. Any idea? thanks Marina

I think this is due to the nature of VPN. The security policy in VPN probably blocks other connections.

Probably, there is no easy solution.

If you have a spare wireless router at home, you can flash the firmware to dd-wrt and configure it to VPN connection directly. Your device can then connect to this router asnormal. You may check whether your router are supported http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/support/router-database

Of course, this depends on your vpn type as well. So, only test it with your spare router.

Hi, i would like to ask you if push2tv support laptop with windows 7 without widi? At the specs of push2tv says that support miracast, wifi direct and dlna. I want a direct connection for screen mirroring from my laptop to a projector for screen mirroring. Will this device give me a solution to my problem of screen mirroring? Thank you and sorry for my english!

I have a LG G Pad tablet – slimport display capable. My advice for everybody: do not buy a slimport adapter. Why ? 1. Most of them do not work properly (you can see the display on your TV for a few seconds or minutes then it’s gone). It is very important what kind of HDMI cable you are using: “We have discovered a compatibility issue with HDMI cables from other manufacturers that are constructed of copper-clad steel (CCS) instead of 100% bare copper. Those types of HDMI cables do not transmit sufficient power to operate correctly with our adapter.” 2. You have no control over the screen size or the resolution used on your TV. 3. You are connected through a cable – it is not so comfortable.

I did try also Miracast – mirroring is not a good option for me.

So, finally Chromecast is also available in Europe (35 euro). There is only one word for this device: AMAZING. What I did try with Chromecast: 1. Youtube – no problem, you can also add more videos to the TV queue. 2. Plex – I’m on a business trip now, my server is in another country – works like a charm. 3. Localcast – I have some 1080p mkv files on my tablet – they run without a glitch (much much better then miracast). Tried also audio files, photos and pdf files. For video files you can also add subtitles, zoom, and rotate. 4. Chrome Beta – install the app, open a new tab and “chrome://flags/#enable-cast” to activate chromecast. You can cast html5 content from different web sites.This is a beta version so sometimes the app might crash.

I have also BubbleUpnp – I can cast from a local source of course, but also from a samba share or a NAS – I did not try it yet.

My tablet has a IR port, so I can control also the TV, not only the Chromecast:)

I would say this device has also a great future now that Google opened the SDK.

There’s one thing I’m confused about. My hdtv dies not have a miscast adapter, therefore I know I need to buy one on the receiving end. However, the device if like to mirror is a Google nexus 10. I thought the struggle states that one must buy an adapter on both ends of the tv isn’t compatible; at the same time, I know the nexus has the mirror screen option right in the settings, so it seems to me that it’s capabilities now should suffice. Input appreciated. Lizka

Thanks for a super article and for responding to every question there after. Kudos!

I have a question that needs your input – What is the best solution for me to stream local content to my television?

My situation: I have 4 HD televisions. All purchased about 3 years ago. All with USB connectivity & HDMI ports. None of them with built in Miracast support. The televisions are in different parts of the house. My Belkin N router sits in my living room which is centrally located in my house. The wireless signal strength at the televisions is weak to moderate (eg I get 1 or 2 bars out of 5 on a Dell XPS 12). Lastly, I only want to watch local content (movies and shows) on my televisions. I live abroad and most streaming services don’t work here.

In decreasing order of priority, I would like to: 1. Watch local content on my bedroom LG television that gets the lowest wifi signal (this is absolutely required) 2. Create a central server and stream local content from the server to all 4 TVs (Not required, but obviously preferred since my entire family will have access to the content)

Possible Solutions: 1. Buy the Netgear Push2TV3000 for my bedroom and connect my Dell XPS12 to that. The other family members can of course borrow my Push2TV if required. Little painful, but doable. Cost $60. Challenge: Works well for me, but kinda leaves the rest of my family in the lurch. Plus a lot of plugging and unplugging going on. 2. Install Plex on my Dell XPS12 and use it as a central server. Get 4 Chromecast dongles for all 4 televisions. And stream content through Plex. Cost ~$150. This is the ideal situation. However, Big Challenge: Wi-Fi signal strength is weak.

Questions: 1. If I was to use the Chormecast-Plex solution, how much Wifi strength do I need to stream from the central server to the TV? Will one or two bars Wifi strength work? If not, any ideas on how I can make this work? I have never worked with extenders and don’t know if they will do the job. Will appreciate your inputs there. 2. Is there any other solution you can think of that lets me create a single central media server and stream off that to all my televisions given my limitations?

Worst case scenario, I’ll go with the Push2TV option. But if there is a single, unified option out there, I don’t mind spending up to $250 to implement it.

Thanks a ton in advance. I’ll wait for your reply before pulling the trigger on the Netgear Push2TV.

Referring to your questions, 1). it also depends on the video you are trying to stream. For videos up to HD 720p, I don’t think the network strength is an issue. WiFi extender does help. I used it a fews ago. 2). there are many other media server solutions, but it is not easy to use them for local streaming. After a few months of testing, I think Plex is the best media server solution if you use Chromecast. You can use Android app as well (you can get it from Amazon appstore for $0.99. The list price is same as Play store, but very often it is offered in lower price there.). For Miracast, it relies on the device that plays the media. Such media can be served form DLNA server, or just a network share.

For your case, I would suggest you try to get one Chromacast first. If it works well on all TVs, then get another 3. If it does not work well, try to get an wifi extender to test again.

Push2TV is more relevant when you want to mirror your mobile devices to TV (e.g., to play games). It’s essentially not a streaming device (it cannot run in background; it requires the display in your PC or mobile devices).

For most smartphones and tablets, you cannot play in background when using Miracast. In the video, apparently ASUS tablet and their Gallery app was used. But You probably do not have the luck with other mobile devices. For some tablets, for example, kindle fire hdx, you even cannot turn off the tablet display. On most Samsung devices, the display will be off, but you cannot do anything else. I tested several Miracast devices, and none of them support multitasking on mobile phones or tablets. Maybe, I should also get this one later.

For laptop with WiDi, yes, you can set an extended screen for the TV (just like normal dual monitors). But most of them do not work well with videos (and WiDi is supported in limited laptop models) .

Excellent site you have here, glad I found it. Great info and comments, but I have a question …

I recently bought a WDTV Live and it’s decent for wirelessly playing videos downloaded on my PC on TV (or from attached local storage) .. but not for screen mirroing or streaming live content. It has a seemingly undocumented built-in Google browser that won’t play most live streaming sports (UFC, etc)..probably a missing flash codec or other. If I had such a live streaming sporting event open and playing in a Chrome tab on my PC, should ChromeCast be able to mirror it properly on the TV ?? I realize it would have to be 720p or less, which is fine with me as long as the audio and video don’t lag or skip. If not ChromeCast, what would be a better, more cost effective option..??

I’m writing from Colombia and I have a simple scenario where I’d like you to give me your thoughts, if possible.

I’m a XBMC heavy user with my laptop connected to my TV (Sony Bravia 55” recent model) with a 5 meters long HDMI cable that I’d like to get rid of. What is the best way to do this? I’ve been reading about Airtame and it sounds promising, but is still in development.

Is there a way right now to just make a wireless HDMI connection of some sort?

Chromecast works with any Android devices with 2.3.6 or later. So, it should work with Ellipsis 7 (which has Jelly Bean 4.2.2) without issues.

Miracast is supported by Android since Jelly Bean 4.2. But Some vendors may choose to disable it. You check in the display settings, whether you have screen mirroring or wireless display. If not, it probably does not work with Miracast. I don’t have a Ellipsis 7, so I cannot confirm whether it works with Miracast or not.

I downloaded an app to the ellipsis from google store, namedd Wifi Display Helper version 1.1.4 and when I plugged in the push2tv (PTV3000) to my ViewSonic hdmi I was on in a matter of seconds. I am having issues with the chromecast but I think I wrote all about that in another thread.

From the research I did, I think I have to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 or better and after reading the system requirements for Windows 7, I will have to free up space to have room to upgrade but I can do that. I tried with Chrome browser and added some extensions that I read I needed for the chrome cast to work but it wouldn’t work, so that’s when I found the information that chrome cast needed at least Windows 7 on computer in order to work.

I wrote this in a forum last night but thought I would ask again here, My daughter Bobbi sent me a ChromeCast that she had set up at her house on her own network. I plugged it into my TV hdmi and it came on showing “Reconnect me bobbi can’t find arris54g wifi network” It also said to run the chromecast app to connect to a different network. I tried to do that on Ellipsis 7. I had downloaded the chromecast app and had it running, it recognized a device and opened a new window showing “Found bobbi and stating “let’s set up bobbi. When I click on setup, I receive message “Could not connect to your Chromecast. Make sure Chromecast is nearby. I have the tablet nearly on top of the tv, and besides, that don’t make sense because it recognized the device so it seems something else is going on. Do you think I have to go into my network and setup something, or what do think is going on?

When you change network, you must reset your Chromecast. (Otherwise, your neighbor may mess your Chromecast.)

As a security measure, Chromecast remember one and ONLY one network info. If you want to try it in a different network, you have to reset it first.

Again, as a security measure, in addition to hardware reset, you can only reset it only when the Chromecast is connected to the original network. This is the reason you cannot reset it in your own network.

Excellent info. Q: we want to mirror videos from our tablets (currently ipads) on TV’s in our showroom, on demand. E.g. customer wants to see a specific model in use, sales staff would pull up the video on the tablet and cast it to the large LED TV’s. When not “mirroring” these LED TV’s will be playing a “loop” of product video. Was about to purchase Samsung Smart TV’s with Micca Speck’s and give up on mirroring because I don’t want any of this on our network..then I found your article.If necessary, we can replace the i-pads with Android based Tablets. Would you recommend Miracast TV w/ Push2TV and Android Tablets for our scenario?

Most Samsung smart TV’s already support miracast natively. They may name it as AllShare cast. It’s essentially miracast with minor extensions. So, if the TV already have miracast or AllShare cast, you don’t need any dongles. If the TV is a very old model without miracast/AllShare cast support, yes, I usually recommend this Push2TV.

For the tablet, I would recommend Samsung ones. Most of their 8″ or larger tablets has AllShare cast. You can actually test the casting using your Samsung phones (s3, s4, s5, note 2, note 3,and a few others) before you purchase a tablet. Samsung mobile devices are recommended because they works best for this screen mirroring. Samsung has AllShare cast way before Google introduced the miracast support in Android Jelly Bean 4.2.

Anyway, if the TV supports miracast or AllShare cast, you don’t need any dongles or adapters. For the video source, you can use Samsung smartphones or tablets.

I m using an EZCast clone like of Chromecast but with Mirroring option also. Connected to my 10.1 Cambridge Science 3G Dual Sim 16gb Android Jelly Bean 4.22 tablet and watching on my 50inch Tv with no problems. Got tablet from amazon £169.99 and EZcast from ebay £17.99. Can watch Netflix and all video catchup from my tablet.

Hi Brilliant information. I want to buy chromecast but have an android tablet (nexus 10) and I am aware that you cannot cast from chrome browser at the moment. So I feel I will have to go down the miracast route as I am more interested in displaying my tablet content than using the dedicated apps. Do you think that eventually chromecast will enable Web surfing on tablets such as mine Regards Alan

I have a 2012 nexus 7. We bought a Belkin miracast. It works for my husbands Samsung galaxy mega but not my nexus tablet. Is there anything I can purchase to make my nexus 7 first edition work on the tv? Or is there something that I can add to the belkin miracast? We download movies under a bit torrent app.

Hi Simon, A very interesting article. I am working at a p – 12 private school and I am thinking that the Miracast usb/hdmi dongle might be the way to connect our teachers laptop/tablets (all windows 8 and above) to the projectors in the class rooms. I would like to get rid of the vga cables that litter the floor and which I am replacing constantly due to bent/broken pins. The cables can cost anything up to $40.00 each and by the time I’ve replace 20 or so in a year the money starts to run out the door, which make a permanent $60.00 dongle viable. The only issue I have is that our students also have the same laptop/tablets as the teachers so having security to stop the students connecting would be advantage. Do you have any thoughts on this?

Miracast adapter is usually positioned as an entertainment device. The vendors tried very hard to make it simple to use. For the Miracast adapters in the market, I haven’t found any of them that come with any access control. It’s probably difficult to block any unauthorized access.

For Chromecast, the access control is even worse in a campus environment. The device can be accessed from any devices in the same WiFi network.

Simon, can you edit this article to indicate the new capabilities of the Chromecast (screen casting and it being semi-app independent). It is in beta right now, but it seems like Google is looking for an full app-agnostic usage out of beta – along with its default hardware-agnostic usage.

Most Chromecast vs. Miracast articles seem to have been written pre-debut of the beta-limited Screen Casting support for Chromecast.

Does anyone know if Galaxy tab 4 10.1 supports miracast please ? Specs of product say no but I have screen mirroring option on tablet… In the article, you say Samsung does not always tell about miracast option. When I asked them how to connect my tab 4 to my tv, they told me to buy allshare cast dongle (of course…)

I am writing from Denmark. I have connected the chromecast to my wi-fi using my ipad (the chromecast app) and everything seemed to work fine. But now I am being told that the chromecast and my ipad can’t connect so I can’t e.g. transmit Netflix to my tv screen. The massage is that the chromecast and my ipad are connected to different wi-fi connections, but I am sure that they are not. Do you know if there is something I can do/look up via my ipad to check this…? My wi-fi router is a technicolor TG788vn which has been provinsen by my internet provider.

Where did you get this message “The massage is that the Chromecast and my iPad are connected to different wi-fi connections”?

It is NOT necessary to manually connect Chormecast to iPad. As long as both are connecting to the same router, in Chromecast app in the iPad, the Chromecast device should be located.

If you know how to access the router admin interface, you can check whether Chromecast and iPad get correct IPs? I am not sure about this router, but it usually is not an issue as you can finish the setup.

Chromecast users gloss over a major problem Chromecast has versus Miracast.

Miracast is peer-to-peer. Your transmitting device (like your PC, your phone, tablet, etc.) connects directly to the receiving device (like your TV). No need for a wireless network. No need for a router. No need for the Internet. You can play any content you like. You can extend your desktop (so you can be doing email on your laptop while playing a movie on the TV). You can mirror your display. You can play any content via any program or any app.

Chromecast requires a router and wireless network. And until recently, it required an Internet connection and only played web-based content. It only works through Chrome as well.

You might think that scenario isn’t important to you. But portability and freedom are important in a lot of situations. Let’s say you want to go to an acquaintance’s house and want to show a movie or slideshow or something but they won’t give you the password to their network (even friends can be paranoid about giving out their password). Or let’s say you are doing a presentation at another office which most likely won’t let your computer or Chromecast on their protected network. Or let’s say you’re throwing a pool party and have a TV out there with your cell phone or laptop but no wireless network in sight. Let’s say you’re doing a trade show and need to cast a display. Have you tried using the free WiFi at a trade show? It’s horrendously unreliable due to the gazillion devices trying to connect to it. Let’s say you’re at a hotel which has free or paid WiFi that requires authentication. Good luck with setting Chromecast in any of these examples.

Sure, you can pay for hotspot access and tether your device to it, but it costs extra money for a lot of people (Verizon and AT&T come to mind). Travel routers mean more wires and another power plug.

Miracast is not limited to merely mirroring/copying a display. You can extend your desktop. every option is the same as if it’s a second monitor physically plugged in (you can extend, you can mirror, you can switch primary, etc.) You can be doing email and web browsing on your laptop screen but watching a movie on the casted screen.

And again, it’s not limited to a “portal”. You can use any program or app and it can be any kind of content whether it’s a MKV or a BluRay disc or Netflix.

Just to add 1). Chromecast does not work with hotspot. If you don’t have a physical router with active internet connection (Google may gradually relax this requirement), Chromecast will not work. 2). Miracast support on PC is available on Windows 8/8.1 only. On Windows 7 (no native support of Miracast), you need Intel WiDi support.

I want to buy Samsung galaxy note 10.1 (2014), my purpose is to use its pen to present some contents on TV or projector and my Q. is which of the Miracast or Chromecast is best suitable for me : screen mirroring without delay ? If both of them are good , my second Q is that which them have shorter delay in using pen on tablet (for drawing) and mirroring on TV. Eventually , in Miracast solution , which brand is better? 1-Netgaer 2-Easy cast m2 3-asus miracast 4-IM-10 sony miracast 5-DLink wireless mirror streamer tv adapter dsm-260

Chromecast requires WiFi network and internet connection. Miracast doesn’t. Miracast is more portable. For Chromecast, when you connect to a different network, you must reset it.

For the Miracast dongles, I tried 1,3, and 5. My recommendation (no scientific base) would be 1 or 3.

Actually, you have another cable option: MHL is also supported in Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition. You can get an MHL adapter (to HDMI) or MHL to VGA adapter. Both should cost less than $30. If the presentation is critical, you should always have a cable solution, at least, as a backup.

Based on my recent research and with your help, I think Netgear is best for me and my reason is that Asus dongle has few compatible devices (is it true ??!!!) also it WiFi speed is 54 Mbps (!!!!??) instead 300 Mbps . these are my results but if they are not correct plzz tell me,

but recently i found a another one : Belkin Miracast Video Adapter( with HDMI 2 those one have hdmi 1.3) What about this in comparison with those ?

Actually, all these 3 should work with mobile device supporting Miracast. The “official” list usually only means the vendor tested on these devices.

For the network, all these 3 supports 802.11N. So, it is sufficient for 1080p videos. Please note, the connection/pairing quality depends on the mobile device as well.

Both Netgear and Belkin adapter can work in 2.4G and 5Ghz mode. So the theoretical speed should be 300Mbps. ASUS one is not clear. Very likely it is also dual band and maximum speed is very likely also 300mbps.

All these 3 got both positive and negative comments (there is no perfect one that pleases everyone!). Personally, I would rank them as yours. Netgear now is the cheapest in Amazon ($50).

If you have a need to do Miracast and AirPlay you can use a software receiver like AirSever http://www.airserver.com. The only limitation is that while multiple iOS devices can connect at the same time, only one Miracast device can connect. Hopefully this will be improved.

Ive just buy my SAmsung Ua32f4500 LED tv. and i have Samsung galaxy note 10.1 ( not version 2014) which is best for my device Miracast or Chromecast.? specially when i’m playing my games in my note 10..1 Your article is very helpful that’s why i leave my comment here for some inquiry too. Please advice….

my Ua32f4500 specs says miracast: no. & only all share cast says – all sharing ( please see the link: http://www.samsung.com/sa_en/consumer/tv-audio-video/television/led-tv/UA32F4500ARXUM ). at least i need your advice before i decide which one to buy. ( chrome cast, miracast or samsung link). My Note 10.1 support all share cast; mirroring for my games is my priority other packages is bonus (such as video, pictures & etc.). i’m choosing between miracast & chromecast since its cheaper. or any other options? Thanks.

Now you’ve help me a lot to decide which one to buy. I’m looking forward to buy online a Miracast and i’ve found this one – “ezCast M2 Miracast DLNA Airplay Android Smartphone WiFi Display TV Wireless Share Push receiver supports 1080p:” is this item is ok? its price ranges 35 dollars- 40 dollars included shipping.

what does 1080p-means for the miracast? Is it compatible for my screen size 1366×768 for my tv?

I normally recommend Netgear PTV300 (which is the only certified Miracast dongle for Amazon kindle fire HDX tablets), Samsung AllShare cast (usually cheaper), ASUS Miracast dongle (a bit too expensive). You should be able to get it for less than $60 from Amazon. ezCast probably should cost less than $25. I never tried it and therefore I don’t recommend it.

Samsung also discounted AllShare Cast dongle to less than $40 before black Friday. But now, it seems the stock is low and the price is quite high now.

for 1080p, this is the maximum resolution the hardware can support. Your TV normally can scale it properly to its own resolution. So it should not be an issue.

I have a TV with USB and HDMI inputs. I have a mac desktop. Can i launch a Piano learning app(on a CD) from my mac and have the mac screen AND sound play on my TV as I control the app from my mac? Will chromecast do that…or is there a better option to do that..

I would say Chromecast is not a good solution for this. In this case, you will have to use desktop mirroring, which is an experimental (not even alpha) feature. Some users get this or that problems, especially audio.

I think you may consider wireless HDMI transmitter/receiver solution (it is usually not cheap), if a physical HDMI cable is not an option.

Thanks for reply. Im sorry for my question because i feel sleepy when i type it. Im going to repeat it again. Actualy my new sony tv is allready built in in miracast or already have (no need for dongle) the problem is about my cellphone a samsung galaxy dous with android version only 4.1 or ics version cant mirror it. What should i do to be abble it for mirroring. Tnx for the fastest response.

Does you phone or tablet support miracast? If yes, it should work. Please note, although android supports miracast since Jelly Bean, most vendors only enable it in some high end devices due to resources requirement.

Actually, amazon fire tv stick and fire tv also support miracast.

I tested both fire tv stick and fire tv. The only problem is occasionally it may fail to connect.

I personally use Netgear PTV 3000 for long time. I normally recommend this one. You probably can get it from Amazon at about $40.

If you are also an Amazon prime member, you can also consider Fire TV stick. It also can be used as Miracast dongle, in addtion to normal TV features. The performance is quite good. Just occasionally, it may refuse to connect with phone/tablet. But it should work after restart the stick. It probably provides the best value at $40.

Hello, Thank you for your review. Could you tell a few words about EZMirror vs Miracast? If I understand well, EZMirror is a proprietary protocol based on Miracast? I just bought an “EZCast dongle”, but it’s not detected by my “Miracast certified” Android Tablet and my “WiDi certified” Windows 8.1 Tablet. The only way to use it is to install the EZCast software. Can a “native Miracast device” be used with an EZMirror supporting dongle, or the EZMirror protocol has some additional layer, preventing the use without installing the proprietary EZCast software? Thank you.

Simon excellent article timely and very informative. From a large enterprise environment Miracast is a better option in my opinion. Chromecast has some advantages to the home for sure but Miracast seems to be a better solution for now. My question is understanding the relationships between Miracast and WHDI, and WiGIG etc.

From our point of view we want to keep internet traffic to an absolute Minimum so from that point of view Miracast seems the right way, am I missing something is there another P2P solution that I may have missed?

I was roaming here and there in search of perfect differences between Miracast and Chromecast. This is the only place where I got all information about the same. Thanks for sharing such meaningful article!

I have a Sony Xperia Z and a Sony Bravia TV (Without WiFi). From the above discussions, i understand that Netgear PTV3000 should work for streaming my smartphone screen to my TV using Miracast. Any alternative to Netgear PTV3000 which can work same or better?

If I were you, I would get a cheaper (it should be around $25 now) Chromecast.

I guess your Xperia Z has been updated to Lollipop (at least Kikat), you can use Android screen mirroring to mirror the screen to the TV through Chromecast. Xperia Z should be powerful enough for Android screen mirroring.

In addition to screen mirroring, Chromecast can do more. More and more apps and streaming services now support Chromecast.

Thanx for the reply and valuable suggestion. One more thing, Would i be able to receive internet through wifi in my cellphone and at the same time screen mirror my cellphone on TV using chromecast? I read somewhere that cellphone uses wifi direct to connect to the dongle which stops the internet through wifi.

Chromecast does NOT use WiFi direct. Miracast itself is wifi direct. this is the reason why some old Sony phones cannot use Miracast because the chip cannot handle Internet connection and wifi direct connection concurrently.

Chromecast doesn’t have this issue. It connects to internet independently. The apps just tells it where to fetch contents. For android screen mirroring, it’s routed though your router locally.

1. The list of chromecast supported devices doesn’t include xperia Z (tho it includes xperia z3, xperia z2, etc.). Is there any update about xperia z supported by chromecast? (i could not find any apart from some suggestions regarding rooting the cellphone and some tweeks)

2. I am using a wifi dongle for internet which provides internet connection to my PC, laptop, PS3 and two mobile devices. So all these gadgets are practically on a single wifi network. Do i need a router?

Simon, your article was excellet, unfortunately I am somewhat technologically backwards. Can you tell me if my samsung galaxy note 10.1 will work with the ezcast’ dongle I have already bought If so, can you tell me how to connect it so I can mirror through ‘allshare cast’ and watch my tablet on my telly? Regards glenn.

I’m using chromecast for wirelessly presenting my google slide to a projector from my iPad. My network won’t support this but I have got it working through my mobile phone hotspot. I would rather not use the data (if I play a YouTube video in class) so I’m looking for something like miracast that will create a new network for me… Any ideas?

Also chrome browser for iPad doesn’t support the beta ad-on to mirror the whole iPad to the projector. (I can do this with the Apple TV system) … any idea if iPad will support chrome cast mirroring anytime soon? Thanks

This was amusing: “Chromecast has nothing to do with Miracast.” Because….only by invoking Miracast on my Android phone was I able to get Chromecast (audio) to work. Neither will work without the other. I wonder what this means.

Hello Simon: I’m currently watching a downloaded movie, using VLC Media Player, on my desktop computer. The problem I’m having is that I want to use the Mirror Cast feature (already set up) on my Sony 4k Ultra Hi-Def TV to cast the movie over to the TV from the desktop. When playing or viewing the downloaded movie on my desktop screen, I don’t see any Mirror Cast icon to click on in order to cast the movie over to the TV. On the flipside when I stop or pause the movie and use the Google Chrome browser, the Mirror Cast icon appear or is present in upper right corner and upon clicking on it, whatever is showing or playing on my desktop screen using the browser is cast to the TV screen. However when I play the downloaded movie, using the VLC Media PLayer, on my desktop, there is no Mirror Cast icon present to allow me to cast the movie to the TV. Is there a setting or something I need to do on the VLC Media Player in order to allow the Mirror Cast feature on my Sony 4K TV to cast the movie from my desktop to my Sony TV? I would really appreciate any help in solving this problem or issue.

You can cast the whole desktop. In chrome browser, click the cast icon in toolbar, click the down arrow icon next to “Cast to” pop out (by default, this pop out window list available Chromecast and Google Home devices in your network). Then you can find the cast desktop option. This was explained in this page.

Please note desktop sharing /casting is not good for videos. The simplest solution for your case is to use Videostream as explained in this page.

I was thinking of how to make my phone screen a bigger screen without investing much on it. I had search also a lot about later i just come to know about Best Miracast Dongle which is the best thing for screen sharing.